Fictional America's Next Top Model, Cycle 1
by Lone Archer
Summary: Fourteen finalists fight to compete to earn the first title of FANTM pronounced Fan-Tum . Please don't ask me to use your girls. The first nine cycles are already complete, and the tenth's cast is finalized.
1. The Girl who Didn't Get the Theme

Cycle 1 Episode 1

The Girl Didn't Get the Theme

"Being a top model is a tough profession, what with the constant critique, the fierce competition, and the ever-coming stream of opposition, and that's why I, Bella Black, started this show. I started modeling at the age of thirteen, and I only recently retired, but I decided to pass the torch to one of fourteen lucky finalists. They are the future of modeling, and this is _Fictional America's Next Top Model_."

***

Claire Forster, a pale-skinned, ice-blonde haired beauty clambered into the long black limousine, clutching a small tan bag and all of her hopes and dreams. "This is something that I've always wanted, but I've never been able to pursue until now." She smiled, picking a seat at the back and staring out the window as the limo drove on, intent on picking up its thirteen other passengers. Claire shrugged, "I've just always wanted to model, but you know, getting into the industry without any help is tough."

Before she knew it, the limo stopped for the second time, letting in Jacqueline Collins and Jayla Ryman. Jacqueline, a black-haired African-American with stunning eyes, waved at Claire and took the seat next to her. Jayla, a short but beautiful Mexican-American, meekly smiled and sat down awkwardly to the side, staring at the ground. Jacqueline held out her hand to Claire, "Hey, I'm Jackie. It's nice to meet you."

Claire smiled and returned the handshake, "Are you nervous to meet the other girls?"

Jacqueline shook her head and chortled, "Nah, I figure I can deal with whatever they throw at me."

Jayla, always being the quiet one, just peered out the window. "I didn't really want to talk to all the girls at that point because, well… I figured there'd be no point making friends if we were all just going to be going home soon…"

Not too long after that, the limousine reached its largest destination. Whilst Jacqueline, Claire, and Jayla lived close enough to be driven or to ride the bus to the stops of the limo, much of the fourteen girls were arriving by plane. As the lavish car slowed to a stop at the arrivals station, seven excited girls chatted among themselves and awaited the start of their journey.

Angelina Hughes, a full-lipped brown-hair blue-eyed 18 year old with blonde side bangs, was the first of the seven to enter the limo, carrying two rolling suitcases, which she struggled to bring on board. She smiled at the three already inside and thanked a fellow passenger, Holly Wong, who aided her in getting all of her luggage successfully in. Holly had silky smooth curly black hair and a heart shaped head. She prided herself in her natural photogenia and always strived to be the best.

Behind them, Katie Cormac, with piercing green eyes and a bit too much make-up on, stepped on and surveyed the competition. Without a word, she sat down at the side her purse in her hands and her luggage in the trunk of the limo.

Savannah Chalker, with dark hair, brown eyes, and a certain mysterious air around her and her mixed European background, elegantly situated herself between Jayla and Katie and looked over at Angelina, "You can put your luggage in the trunk, you know, to save room."

To which Angelina shrugged and replied, "We probably have enough room anyhow." Katie snorted, but wasn't heard over the commotion of Rose Gunther, Sharon Haddon, and Vivian Austen entering the car. Rose, young and attractive with wavy brown locks, brown eyes, and a peachy complexion, cheerfully introduced herself, "Hi guys. I'm Rose. How are all of you?"

Vivian Austen, baby-faced and pale, with golden-brown hair gray eyes replied, "Good. Nice to meet you. I'm Vivian." Surveying the other girls, she worried that her weight would become a problem in the competition.

Sharon Haddon, very pale with pixie-short black hair, politely sat down and exchanged greetings with a couple of the other girls.

The remaining four girls had arrived by train, and were waiting for the others at a large silver building. As the ten girls from the limo piled out, Treasure Kundera, dark skinned with medium-length black hair, squealed in excitement and readied herself for the competition. Nearby, equally giddy Gwyneth Ballard, pale with light brown hair, quickly integrated herself with the other girls. Margaret Atkinson, the eldest and a half-Chinese half-French contestant smiled at the others and tried to introduce herself. Meanwhile, Janessa Steingarten, the last of the fourteen contestants, shyly tried to be overlooked by the others. She had never particularly like the spotlight, and with her pale skin, rosy cheeks, and very light brown hair, she had often failed at blending in.

Finally, after much waiting, the tinted glass doors of the building opened, revealing a stunning, majestic figure in a slim black dress. The finalists immediately rejoiced at the sight of the former model and current host, Bella Black. Bella was tall and slim, with long straight black hair which past her shoulders, and elegant, elongated features. Her creamy white skin contrasted her dark hair, and she always walked with poise. Bella approached the excited girls and spoke, "I was so excited to be able to start this competition, because it meant so much to me. All fourteen of you have so much potential, and the only thing holding you back from getting a great career is obscurity. I am here to change that. Which one of you is America's Next Top Model?"

The girls cheered and Gwyn rejoiced, raising her arm up as high as she could to prove to Bella that she was the right choice. "I was just so excited. I mean, not only do we get to meet a past supermodel, but we get the chance to become a supermodel? I mean… this is _crazy_!"

"Well, I know you're all excited to see the house," Bella began dangling a small metallic key with the words "Top Model" written on it in fine silky letters, "But first… we're going to have our first challenge. In the real modeling business, there's no time to rest, so we're not going easy on you climb up the stairs in the building behind me, and on the ceiling… is your first challenge."

Vivian eyed Holly in awe. "I just, was not expecting it. I thought they'd give us, like, at least a few days to recuperate. We've been traveling for almost an entire day, and now we have to think?" She laughed and brushed the hair out of her eyes.

When Bella signaled, the fourteen girls rushed past her, leaving all of their luggage in the limousine as it drove off to the house. The stairs were wide and clear, and it didn't take the girls too long to climb the six stories to the roof, which was covered with fourteen desks.

A man with short black hair, spiked in the front, greeted the contestants with a wave and a smile. "Hey girls! Are you ready for your challenge?" Collective sounds of excited agreement were all he needed to continue. "I'm Scott Montgomery, a fashion photographer, and I'm going to be one of the judges on panel. So impress me, all right? Now being all the way up here might make you think that we're going to be doing something crazy, but we're actually keeping it simple this time around. Both Bella and I agreed that it's so important for you to be able to recognize fashion designers and famous fashion models. That being said, we're going to see how well-versed you are in the fashion industry."

Jayla sighed and covered her face with her hand. "I just don't really know much about the fashion industry, so needless to say, I'm freaking out."

"Now each of you are going to choose a desk and we're going to hand out a written test with thirty questions about the fashion industry. The girl that wins gets a very special prize, and will be able to choose two friends to get a lesser one. Ready or not, girls, here I come!" He promptly handed out fourteen tests and sat back as the girls hurried to fill it out.

"Oh my god, I… didn't know half of the answers to the questions." Sharon laughed shaking her head, "Actually, scratch that. I didn't know more than half of them."

"There was a whole section where we're supposed to write the first name of a famous model just from the last name." Rose started, shrugging, "I didn't know any of those names. Selezneva? Johannesson? Moss? Who the hell are they?"

"I'm pretty confident about this challenge." Janessa scratched part of her head, "I'm really interested in the industry, so I know a good share of models. These girls think I'm just the quiet little shy girl, but I like to think I'm the silent threat." She chuckled and looked awkwardly downwards.

Gwyn grinned, "This challenge is in the bag. I know what I'm doing, and what I'm doing is right, so… these girls better watch out." She laughs and pushes the hair out of her eyes.

"All right stop!" Scott clapped above his head and stated, "It's been ten minutes. Let's see how far you managed to get." He went around collecting all the papers, and hastily looked through them. "Some of you don't know who Kate Moss is?"

Rose tried to hide her face in her hands.

"All right. From your test scores, I'm pretty disappointed in your general lack of fashion knowledge. If we're going to take you seriously, you have to know this industry like the back of your hand." Scott held the test scores in his hand and looked at the one nearest to him. "I have the highest test score in my hands. The girl I call has the best fashion knowledge and will get 75 extra frames in this week's photoshoot. She will also be able to choose two friends to get 50 extra frames. So, without further ado, the challenge winner is… Janessa!"

Janessa jumped up and covered her mouth with both hands, screaming.

"Congratulations, Janessa! Choose your two friends." Scott smiled, motioning for Janessa to step forward. Gwyneth looks visibly annoyed in the crowd.

Janessa puts a finger to her lips, biting her nails, "I think I'm going to go with… Angelina and Margaret!" Angelina and Margaret stepped forward happily and went to embrace Janessa.

"At that point, I actually didn't know anyone," Janessa laughed in a confessional, "I just sort of chose the names I remembered."

"All right, thanks a lot girls!" Scott smiled as he waved. "The limo downstairs will lead back to your house. Good luck!" And soon enough, the fourteen finalists were gone, excited to see the house that some of them would live in for two months.

***

When the girls finally entered their house, they were bombarded with a balloons falling from a large bucket rigged to capsize as they opened the door. The house itself was two-storied, with four large bedrooms and three bathrooms. It had a swimming pool, a large family room downstairs with a fireplace and sofas around a circular 'marshmallow' footrest in the center. The bedrooms were each decorated to look like different fashion capitals- Japan, France, Italy, and Britain.

"Pretty much everyone was just rushing to get a room." Katie remembered, looking up, "It was really hectic, and it was kind of ugly. People pushing, and you know, just being kind of selfish."

"I was kind of preoccupied to think of getting a bed at that point." Gwyneth rubbed her face with her left hand, aggravated. "I was just really… really set on winning that challenge. And when I didn't it just sort of… sucked." She shook her head and turned, trying to hide her disappointment.

Before long, each of the girls found a bed in the house. Jacqueline, Savannah, Angelina, and Rose lodged in the Japan room. Katie, Margaret, Sharon, and Vivian were in the France room. Janessa, Holly, and Treasure lived in the Italy room and finally Gwyneth, Jayla, and Claire slept in the Britain room.

While some of the other girls went out to swim and frolic, Janessa sat on her bed talking with her roommate Holly, "I just feel like… now that I won a challenge there's a lot more pressure on me."

"Well," Holly thought for a minute, "We just started. So, we're basically all on equal footing. Your win should be a positive thing, not something that causes stress. You get what I'm saying?"

Janessa nodded and continued unpacking, "I'm just worried, is all. I'm afraid if I waste this, I'm never going to have another opportunity again."

Meanwhile, Gwyneth was brooding over her challenge loss. "I just don't see… why. I don't understand… why she won. I mean, I have more fashion knowledge than all these girls combined, I… just don't write fast. And it's completely unfair for her to have taken the prize. But, I guess I'm just going to have to pull off a better photo than her this week and prove that I deserved it."

"Model Mail!" Jacqueline called from the kitchen holding the postcard. "It says: Can you be the girl of everyone's fantasy? Be ready tomorrow at eight. Love, Bella."

"I bet it's going to be a really sexy photoshoot." Sharon quipped.

"Like something nude!" Vivian exclaimed, much to Margaret's chagrin.

"I just don't know how I feel about nudity." Margaret sighed in a confessional. "I don't think I'm comfortable in my own skin enough to do that."

***

The next morning, the fourteen finalists were off to their photoshoot destination. It wasn't long until they arrived at a tall, nondescript building. In order to make it on time, they hurried in to be greeted by Scott.

"Hey girls!" He waved, carrying a clipboard. "If you didn't figure it out by the model mail last night, your photoshoot today has to do with fantasies. To be more specific, fantasy creatures. Each of you has been pre-assigned a mythological creature, and we're going to dress you up in couture gowns representing them. Are you ready to hear what you got?"

Cries of excitement answered his question.

"All right. Janessa, our challenge winner, is going to be a tree nymph. Rose, you're a fairy. Treasure is a Harpy Lady, Sharon a vampire, Katie a succubus, Angelina a Siryn, Gwyneth a phoenix, Holly a gorgon, Claire an Angel, and to counter that, Savannah will be a Fallen Angel. Jacqueline you're going to be a giant, Jayla a centaur, Margaret a werewolf, and Vivian a Mayura, which is actually a fighting peacock spirit. Remember, Janessa, Angelina, and Margaret get extra frames. Let's go into hair and make-up!"

"So while we're getting our make-up done," Angelina stated, "I'm looking around and there is all this crazy dresses and hair. Like Janessa is in this stunning brown dress and they're putting like twigs in her hair and stuff like that. It's crazy."

Jacqueline was the first on set, wearing a slim, brown mini-dress that ends above her knees. Her set included miniature trees and a small pool of water. Scott picked up his camera and began, "All right, so the idea of this shoot is that you're an absolute giant. So I want you to stand in the middle of this forest, and since the model trees only go up to your knees, you'll look huge. Feel free to play with the small ocean too."

Jacqueline nodded and struck a strong, wide-legged stance in the forest. Her arms were stiff and she looked to the side in the distance.

"Okay, that's too standard, Jackie. Um, try popping a hip so it looks less unnaturally… symmetrical."

Jackie did the same pose, but popped her hip to the right.

"Oh, that's pretty! I like the sense of power, especially from shooting below you."

Rose, dressed in a pink corset and skirt let the designers finish attaching transparent wings to her back. She sighed, "I've just always been afraid of heights, so I hope the harness isn't too high."

Scott welcomed her on set and explained, "So, basically we're going to have you hanging over the ground, but your set is just a couple of massive tree models and flowers. This is going to make you look really tiny. Be creative and just really get into it, okay Rose?"

"Okay, I got it." Rose promptly answered and braced herself for the harness. Once the harness was on, they lifted her a couple of feet from the ground so that she would be above a massive open flower model. Rose bent her left leg and allowed her right to hang downwards, pointing her toe so it just barely touched the flower. Her arms were in the air awkwardly.

"Okay, I love what you're doing with your legs, but your arms are really awkward. Try something else with them." Scott prompted. In a confessional, Scott sighed, "Rose had a really good final shot, but it was so hard to get it out of her. She's not easy to work with."

Sharon went on set wearing lots of black and red leather with a pair of large bat wings attached to her back. She smiled devilishly at Scott and went to shake his hand.

"Sharon, looking deviously amazing! I want you to go all dominatrix on set today, okay? We have this gorgeous bedroom scene at night for you with a moon in the background, so we really want a sort of dark, devilish, and sexy vibe coming from this."

Sharon nodded and immediately began posing with her hands on her hip. Her legs were spread apart and she snarled at the camera. After a couple of frames, Scott stopped her.

"Okay, right now this is looking very 'modeling 101', and it's just not something spectacular. Give us something more dynamic and work on the angles."

Janessa smiled at Scott as she struggled to walk on set with her lavish brown dress, which had a train that went on for several feet. Her hair was adorned with various leaves and twigs, and her pale skin contrasted the colors in her dress and make-up.

"I'm loving this get-up, Janessa." Scott joked, "I think you should wear this every day." In reply to her laugh, he responded, "So we have this giant tree trunk and forest background, and we want you to just blend in with the tree, almost like you're coming out of it, and we're going to tie the train around the tree, so it literally looks like the dress you're wearing is part of it."

Janessa let the helpers tie the train of the dress around the tree and began leaning on it, arching her back and putting her left hand, the one farthest from the camera, above her head, with her right hanging limply.

"Oh, that's gorgeous, Janessa! I love the arched back. Watch your mouth, though, you tend to get a little bit too much tension." Later, Scott remarked, "The girls did very well overall. It's definitely a great start. Some of them have some catching up to do, but I don't think we can rule anyone out yet."

***

At the house, Angelina sat at the counter eating a salad with Holly and Savannah. "How do you guys think you did today? I'm kind of nervous. I was trying to do all these screaming shots, but Scott kept saying I was losing my lower body."

Holly shrugged, "The wardrobe and make-up for my shoot was really crazy. It was a lot to try to handle at once."

"What was your wardrobe?" Savannah asked between bites of sliced apples.

"I had so much gel in my hair cause they tried to make it look like snakes, and the background was like this hellish place with rocks and lava and shit. It was pretty cool."

Savannah nodded, "Scott really liked my shots. I hope the judges do too."

Meanwhile, Rose passed the entrance and came across a postcard marked 'Model Mail'. "Hey guys! Model Mail!" Once everyone arrived at the front door, Rose continued, "Tomorrow you will meet with the judges. Only thirteen of you will continue on towards becoming America's Next Top Model. Love, Bella."

"Oh, I'm so excited. It's time to get some of you bitches out!" Jacqueline joked.

***

At the judging panel, the fourteen finalists entered and took their places on a large platform connected to the judging panel by a small runway. "Welcome ladies!" Bella greeted, wearing a grey mini-dress with her hair straight and long. "Welcome to your first judging! You all look gorgeous, but only one of you can be America's Next Top Model. Here are your judges, Mr. Scott Montgomery, fashion photographer, Ms. Ginny Frost, former fashion model and current fashion editor of 'Emblem', a haute couture magazine and part of your prize, and of course myself, former model Bella Black. We don't have a guest judge for this week, but there will be one every week. Are you ready to hear the prizes?"

The girls nodded in anticipation.

"The winner of cycle one of America's Next Top Model will get a $10,000 contract with Vega Model Management, a six page spread in 'Emblem' magazine, and a cover in both 'Portragirl' and 'Emblem' magazine. You guys are getting both a commercial and a high-fashion prize, so our winner has to be able to do both. Now, this week you guys each portrayed different mythological creatures. Sharon, you're up first."

Sharon walked up wearing a light blue top and neutral black pants. "Hi guys, I was a Vampire." Sharon growled adorably and turned to look at her photo. In her picture, Sharon is wearing full-body black leather with accents of red. She has leather wings and pearly white fangs. Her background is a lavish bedroom scene, with a large queen-sized bed with clear drapes and elegant cloth everywhere. Sharon leans on one of the poles supporting the bed and looks over her left shoulder at the camera. She has a devilish smile, revealing pointed teeth. Both of her arms hang limply, her right is amputee behind her body, and her left leg is bent, making a triangle shape with the pole and her leg.

"Well," started Scott, "I like he left leg. It's something you see a lot, the leg bent to make a triangle. That being said, I had to work so hard to get this out of you, and your arms are still looking a little bit lazy here."

"Sharon," Frost rested her head on her fist, "This shot bores me. I love your look, but this picture… it's just not enough. Go back to modeling 101 and come back when you know how to model."

Sharon, surprised and mildly offended by this put her right hand on her chest.

"See, even that's contrived. You have to learn how to be more natural. Next."

Sharon, confused, took her place with the other girls. Bella looked up, "And next up is Margaret."

Margaret approached the panel and smiles, "I was a werewolf." In Margaret's photo, Margaret is wearing all gray fur, including a fur coat, scarf, and gray long pants. She has on a pair of gray stilettos and her hair is colored gray as well. Her background is a dark forest, with various trees and rocks barely lit, creating a nighttime atmosphere. Margaret is on all fours, crawling diagonally towards the camera. Her right limbs are farther in front than her left, and her body is contorted to look at the camera. Her left leg is almost fully extended, with a pointed toe. She glares into the camera, pointed teeth showing.

"Wow." Bella began, "This is a great shot. I think you sort of lost the 'fashion' element in here a little bit, but I adore the pointed toe, and the face is almost there."

"You were a girl that I honestly wasn't looking forward to shooting." Scott grinned, "But you pulled it out. I just want to see more frames like this in the future, because your shots were a little inconsistent."

"I'm still bored." Frost sighed, "It's getting there, but it's not something I'd see in a fashion magazine."

"Oh lay off, Ginny," Bella laughed, "It's the first week."

"Hey, when it was the first week of my career, I turned it out like there was no tomorrow."

"All right." Bella rolled her eyes, "Next up is Katie."

In Katie's photo, Katie is wearing just black lingerie and very dark, seductive makeup. She is on a black, elegant, queen-sized bed. She lies, eyes piercing and lips pursed on the bed, with her left leg straight and her right bent and on top of the left. Both feet are pointed. Her right arm is bent in a triangle shape to her body, resting on the bed, while her left arm is on the space on the bed to her left, inviting the viewer to join. There is a slight swirl effect to the outside portion of the picture in order to emphasize the fact that the subject in the photo is not just an average girl.

"I like the seductive element you brought to this, Katie." Bella nodded, "But we're worried that you look to old for the fashion industry. This proves you can turn it out in a photo, but is it enough?"

"I love the legs," commented Frost, "But the arms are just awkwardly placed. The lips are too pursed too, it comes off looking contrived."

"All right, thank you." Bella smiled. "Next up is Angelina."

In Angelina's photo, Angelina is wearing an all-black catsuit with black stilettos and her hair down and curly. She is screaming at the camera, with circular ripples of sound coming from her mouth. The shot is very close to her face, with her arms stiff and backwards and most of her body out of frame, or covered by her head. Her eyes are squinted so that they are almost closed, and her hair blows violently behind her.

Frost yawned, "It's an interesting concept, but you're not working it here. I don't see what you're wearing, your head looks overly large, and your eyes are squinted way too much."

"I actually really like this." Bella refuted, "I think it's kind of artsy. I like the stiff arms, but I wish her head didn't look so out of proportion. Great job on screaming with that much intensity, though."

"I agree." Scott added, "You committed to the scream, and we can all tell."

Angelina smiled, "Thank you!"

"Next up is Jacqueline."

In Jacqueline's photo, Jacqueline is wearing a slim brown mini-dress, and she has twigs in her hair stuck in odd directions. The photo is taken from below her to make her appear gigantic. Around her legs are small trees that don't reach her knees. She stands, with her knees locked, and her arms straight and stiff. She stares out into the distance and the sun creates a ripple of light that is partially blocked by her head.

"Gorgeous! I love it!" Bella exclaimed, "This is my favorite shot so far."

"I love how it's just so simple, Jacqueline, but you manage to make just standing there artsy and fashionable. Great job."

"Next up is Holly!"

In Holly's photo, Holly is dressed in a stunning, silk white gown and she sits on a set made up of large rocks surrounded by a large body of water. She sits on one of the larger rocks, with her left leg bent at the knee, and her left stiletto on another rock. Her right foot rests on the ground, making her right knee bent as well, creating another triangle shape. Her left hand is on her left knee, which stiffens her left arm, and her right arm holds up her weight on the rock. Her hair is styled like green snakes, and the green make-up around her eyes accentuates her features. The face is calm, and the photo is a pan-out, and the rock formation is on the left side of the frame, with the right just being water.

"It's a nice artistic, photo, but you're not doing very much." Scott commented.

"I have to agree." Bella nodded, "The body is great, but the face is too calm, and not fierce scary Gorgon enough."

In Janessa's photo, Janessa is wearing a stunning brown dress with an extremely long train. Her pale skin contrasts the color of the dress and the various leaves and twigs stuck in her hair. The train is tied around the tree trunk so that it appears that the dress is one with the tree, and she rests against it, her back arched and her legs against the tree with the left slightly bent at the knee to create a shape with the dress. Her left arm, being the farthest from the camera, is over her head, conforming to the shape of her head, and her right arm is hanging limply. She squints a bit too much and her lips are slightly parted.

"This is a stunning photo." Frost admitted, "But if you look at the close-up, the face is a bit off. The body is gorgeous though. Watch out for her, girls, she's a contender."

Bella smiled, "The body positioning is absolute perfection. You're one of the girls that's just going to have to work with your face more."

Janessa nods and walks back to the other girls.

In Savannah's photo, Savannah is wearing a tattered gray dress and no shoes or gloves. In addition, she also wears a large pair of dark wings. Her hair is dirty and messy, and dark black make-up stains trail down her face. She stands awkwardly with her knees pointed inwards and her arms crossing to hold the opposite shoulder. Her dirty hair falls messily downwards, and her gray wings fold inwards slightly. The background is shades of dark gray which get darker the closer they get to Savannah, almost as if the darkness is slowly suffocating her.

"Stunning." Scott grinned, "You really captured the essence of a fallen angel. And you gave a lot of variety on set! I got pictures of you being an insecure fallen angel, I got vengeful fallen angel. I got everything. Great job!"

In Treasure's photo, Treasure's set is the same pile of white rocks surrounded by water as Holly's was. She wears a colorful form-fitting dress with a long train of multiple colors, and the sleeves droop down like harpy wings. Her arms are raised dramatically, bent downwards at the wrists, and her head is slightly lowered with her eyes glaring at the frame. She is standing in a neutral position, but the dress outlines her curves in a way that it makes her body positioning look interesting anyway. This time, the rocks are in the center of the frame, with water only barely in the frame. Since Treasure is standing on the highest rock, she is still not very close to the camera, but a ways back.

"Wow!" Bella's eyes widen, "I have to say that you really nailed to ominous atmosphere of this shoot. The bent wrists are haunting, the face is great, and you make the dress look wonderful"

In Claire's photo, Claire's set appears to be made of clouds, and she wears a blue and white short mini-dress, with white stilettos. She stands on one foot, her right one which is farther from the camera, and her left leg is bent at the knee, creating a triangle shape with her two legs as if she were a flamingo. Her left arm is making a triangle shape with her left hand on her hip, and her right hand is on her left knee, making her right arm stiff. Her face is calm and jubilant and her hair is tied up in a convoluted but beautiful bun with diamonds.

"You look so expensive here, Claire." Frost said, "Like, my head is exploding with this. Our angels really did well this week! Can we just call the competition quits and let this girl win?"

In Rose's photo, Rose wears a simple pink mini-dress with small wings, and her hair is tied into pigtails. She is above a massive flower, and two giant tree trunks are behind her, making her look very small. Her right leg is bent at the knee and she points her right toes on her left leg, which is straight. Her left leg barely touches the flower, with her toes pointed on it. Her left arm hangs downwards, and her right is bent at both the wrist and the elbow. It is parallel with her collarbone and the back of her hand is near her face. Her face is relaxed and beautiful, and her lips are parted and slightly pouted.

"The legs are great, but you could work your face more." Scott commented.

"Also," Frost rolled her eyes, "The arms are just an awkward mess. You need to work everything. You can't just be a leg model."

In Vivian's picture, Vivian is wearing what appears to be a black leather swimsuit, which looks like a sleeveless tank top at the front, but turns into a one-piece at the bottom. She wears black boots and gauntlets, and a giant colorful peacock tail is behind her. Her hair is tied into a long, slender ponytail, and dark make-up is around her eyes. She stands in fighting position, with her hands both in fists in front of her, and one of her legs bent, as if ready to pounce. The eyes are slightly squinted, but the mouth is too tense.

"I love that you took a risk and went into fighting mythological peacock, but the face isn't all the way there. You need to bring more next time." Bella stated.

"Yeah, you were very stiff on set. I need you to bring more." Scott agreed.

In Jayla's photo, Jayla is topless, and wearing tight brown fur pants, with shoes that look like hooves. A horse back set piece is attached to her, and her hair is messy and falls down naturally. Her right arm is covering her breasts, and her left is slightly bent and on her (the horse's) behind. One eyebrow is raised and her mouth is slightly pursed.

"It looks cheap." Frost scowled, "It looks like a bad porno."

"The mouth doesn't work here, and the arms are just way too stiff." Bella nods.

Finally, Gwyneth steps up to the judges. In her photo, Gwyneth is in a large nest, and she is dressed in a crimson dress with large sleeves designed to look like wings. Her hair is temporarily dyed a fierce red, and red eye make-up accentuates the style. Her legs are both bent, as she is crouched in the nest, but they are crouched to the side, with one knee higher than the other. Her arms hang limply to her sides, bent at awkward angles, but her face is intense.

"I really do like your legs. It's very fashionable, but the arms don't work, and it makes the whole photo a mess." Scott shrugged.

"Now the judges will deliberate, and when we call you back, we will announce who will be eliminated. Thank you." Bella waved the models away as they walked out of the room. She turned to the judges when the models were gone, "So what do you think?"

"These girls…" Frost covered her face with her palm, "Only a few of these girls can actually model. Can we just take a handful of them overseas already?"

***

The fourteen finalists filed into the judging panel, and Bella stood at the end of the short runway with photos in hand. "I only have thirteen photos in my hands, and those thirteen girls will still be in the running towards becoming Fictional America's Next Top Model. The first name I'm going to call is… Savannah."

Savannah grinned and walked forward, "Thank you so much."

"Your picture was divine today, Savannah. We want to see this every week." Bella watched as Savannah walked to the side. "The next four names I will call are… Claire, Jacqueline, Katie, and Rose."

The four girls sighed in relief and walked forward in the order they were called.

"I have eight photos left. The next three names I will call are… Margaret, Treasure, and Janessa."

Janessa cupped her mouth in her hands as she cried slightly, "I thought I was going home."

"Janessa, the reason you were called so low wasn't because of a bad photo. This is quite possibly the best photo this week. We fail to see confidence though, and a top model needs to be confident. Congratulations, you're still in the running."

Janessa nodded and accepted her picture.

"The next three names I will call are… Angelina, Jayla, and Sharon. Congratulations."

The girls smiled and accepted their photos.

"I only have two photos left, and three gorgeous girls standing before me. The girl that will escape the bottom two this week is… Gwyneth."

Gwyneth's mouth dropped and she looked up to suppress tears.

"Gwyn, the only reason you're still here is because of those legs. Those legs saved you. But they won't save you again."

Gwyneth nodded and took her picture.

"Will Holly and Vivian please step forwards?" Bella nodded.

The two models approached Bella and braced themselves for elimination.

"Both of you stand here for the same reason. Both of your photos had stunning bodies, but the face was off. You two got the best styling of the bunch, but you failed to work it. You both have such strong potential, but you guys haven't brought it out. So who goes home? The girl who didn't get the theme, or the girl who was stiff in the face?"

After a brief pause, Bella continued, "Vivian. Congratulations, you're still in the running towards becoming Fictional America's Next Top Model."

Vivian hugged Holly and walked up slowly to get her picture, a few tears falling down her porcelain skin, "Thank you so much."

"You need to push, Vivian. You're a strong, sexy girl, but some of your competitors are showing so much more than you. You need to try harder."

To which Vivian replied chokingly, "I will."

Holly walked up and smiled a smug grin before hugging Bella, "Thanks for the opportunity."

Bella surprised her by taking another photo and handing it to Holly, "We decided it was unfair to deprive one girl from a photo just because she was eliminated. So you're still going home today, but here's your picture."

Holly took the picture and replied, "Thank you again." Before hugging the other girls and waving as she left.

***

"I'm definitely disappointed, but I broke some ground. I was the first ever girl to be eliminated from FANTM." She chucked, "That's a first, isn't it?"

Packing up her stuff, she began to exit the house, "If it's the only first that I accomplish, well then that would suck, but it's still a first."

As she closed the door and walked off into the distance, she waved back at the house one more time, "Bye house!"

***

Holly's casting photo fades from the group photo, and the credits begin to roll.


	2. The Girl without Presence

**Cycle 1, Episode 2**

**The Girl without Presence**

**NOTE:** Paragraphs in brackets take place in confessionals instead of on the spot.

Vivian brushed the sweat off of her forehead as she clambered into the limo with the other twelve remaining contestants. As she sat down, she was still shivering slightly. "I was just not at all expecting to be in the bottom two. I literally thought I would die if I was eliminated. I'm just going to have to step it up if I want to win this."

Next to her, Gwyneth set down her purse and complained, "I'm really hungry. I can't wait to get back."

Katie snorted, "Then why don't you eat something for once?"

Immediately, several of the girls eyed Katie. Gwyneth pursed her lips and swiftly flipped her head so that her hair would move out of her eyes, "What's that supposed to mean, Katie?"

"You know, I just don't understand how you can complain about being hungry, and… you're still a vegetarian."

A look of irritation crossed over Gwyneth's face, "What's there to understand?"

"Well," Katie started, "You have a boyfriend, right?" Gwyneth nodded, prompting Katie to continue, "Well isn't giving him a blowjob like the same thing as eating meat?"

Gwyneth stared at Katie, dumbfounded. "That has got to be the stupidest thing I've ever heard."

Gwyneth looked extremely displeased, "Katie's a bitch! Her photo last week was not good at all. I don't understand how it got a fourth call-out. And to top it off, she looks like a drag queen from… the Jurassic age. She's dead in my book. It's over."

The Top Model theme song from Cycle 4 of ANTM begins playing as photos of Bella Black begin to appear on the screen. Bella smiles seductively and says, "You wanna be on top?". The words "Fierce Beauty", "Fabulous Strut", and "Fresh Personality" appear on the screen to the background of several of the girls posing, walking, and laughing. Angelina looks at the screen smiling and she slowly blinks while her name scrolls across the bottom. Claire brushes her light hair out of her eyes and uses the same hand to caress her cheek. Gwyneth's eyes are closed but they open fiercely, piercing through the screen with her lips slightly parted. Holly is initially looking away from the camera, but she turns quickly so that her hair blows brilliantly behind her. Jacqueline raises her head and glares at the camera, her hair blowing behind her. Janessa has her hand awkwardly at her neck and her eyes look downwards with her lips slightly parted. She slowly looks up. Jayla smiles at the camera and then turns her face to show it another angle. Katie smiles seductively and makes a kissing motion at the camera. Margaret is at a three-quarters angle at the camera and smiles. Rose turns, her hair flipping around and lusciously enveloping her. Savannah starts looking downwards but raises her head and purses her lips. Sharon stares at the camera with big doe eyes and a slight devilish smile. Treasure turns, swaying her head with fierce attitude. Finally, as the music ends, Vivian turns swiftly with her hand running over her mouth. Bella appears again as the logo for "Fictional America's Next Top Model" or FANTM appears.

"Model Mail!" Rose called gleefully, holding up a postcard while the other girls rushed to her side. "All righty. Here goes. 'To get here, you all have guile, but can you rock a personal style?'. What does that mean?" Rose looked confused.

"Hey, does anyone know what 'guile' means?" Jayla asked meekly.

Sharon snorted, "These girls… are like stereotypes. They're just… not extremely smart, let's put it like that." She laughed again.

When the girls arrived at their next destination, they clambered out to be greeted by Scott.

"Hey girls!" He waved as the girls responded, "We're here at the local thrift store, and you might be wondering why. Fashion isn't always about designers and expensive clothes. A true model should also be a true stylista, and you guys need to be able to make thrift store clothes look fierce. The winner of this challenge will get to choose two friends to take to a giant shopping spree worth $10,000 at a designer clothing and jewelry store."

Margaret's eyes opened wide, "This is just… an experience that any girl would want. Like, I've been poor most of my life, and to even hear that this is possible, it's just wow. I mean, most of these girls are just teenagers, so I think I'm the one that deserves this."

"All right." Scott grins, "You have ten minutes to pull off three designer outfits in this thrift store. Starting in three… two… one… GO!"

Immediately, all thirteen girls rushed in pushing past Scott to get into the thrift store.

"It was absolutely crazy," Jacqueline commented, her eyebrow raised with amusement, "Girls were knocking over racks of clothes, I kept stepping all over shirts. I swear, it looked like a tornado ripped through that store."

Rose chuckled, a little embarrassed, "We were lucky that they reserved the store, because if there were actual customer is there, I think they would have been trampled."

Scott stood near the door in a marked off finishing zone with a timer. After a few minutes, he announced, "Seven minutes left!"

"Time limits: I hate them." Treasure snorted, amused.

Near the skirt section of the store, Claire grabbed a few pairs to compare, but was pushed aside gently by Angelina, who proceeded to take one off the rack and sprint back to the front of the store.

"I was just thinking, what is her problem?" Claire rolled her eyes, "I know it's a competition, but you don't need be violent with people."

Jayla, nearby, caught the moment from the sidelines. "I was really just surprised. I knew that Angelina was competitive, but I had never seen her like that. I wanted to do something, but of course, I chickened out."

Angelina was the first into the finishing zone, holding a small collection of clothes. Following right on her tale was Janessa, Katie, and Treasure.

"Three minutes left girls and only three people are in the finish line! You don't want to be disqualified, girls!" Scott shouted. Almost immediately, Jayla, Margaret, Gwyneth, and Vivian ran into the safe zone.

Claire, however, didn't hear him. "I was so pissed at the time that Angelina had pushed me out of the way and taken my skirt that I wasn't really keeping track of time."

Rose, Sharon, and Savannah dashed in with just less than a minute left of time.

"Thirty seconds left girls!"

"When I heard that, my first thought was 'shit'! I thought I had a lot more time than that," mused Jacqueline, "so I just sprinted across the entire thrift store and managed to make it just in time. I remember seeing Claire near the back aisles, but it didn't process in my head that she needed to get her butt to the finish line."

"All I saw was Jackie just running by me at the speed of like… sound." Claire sighed, "And I thought that she was just being overly competitive."

"And time's up! Jacqueline, you JUST made it." Scott smiled, "Congratulations. The only problem is, only twelve of you made it. Where's Claire?"

A few moments later, Claire jogged through the store with some clothes and approached the group.

"And all I could think is, 'why do all the girls look so happy?' Then it hit me." Claire shook her head.

"Sorry Claire," Scott began, "but you are disqualified from this challenge for being late."

"Oh, so pissed!" Claire laughed with a hint of bitterness, "I know I would have totally owned that challenge if I had just made it on time. I blame Angelina."

"Oh," Claire glanced downwards disappointed, "Okay, thank you. Good luck, girls!" She shuffled off to the side.

"I thought it was kind of funny, actually." Katie grinned, "If you don't get there on time, too bad! No point complaining, it's your fault."

Scott turned his attention back to the other girls, "So for the twelve of you still in the running for our lovely challenge prizes, you have five minutes to choose your first outfit from the clothes you brought with you, get changed and come outside for the final stage of the challenge!"

"Have I mentioned that I really, really hate time limits?" Treasure laughed again.

"I was looking around at the other girls when I was picking up my outfit," Sharon began, "And I was totally out of my league. There was Janessa who looked like a straight up ivory goddess, Vivian really knew how to match her body and skin tone and, of course, Jayla looked absolutely stunning."

The girls stepped out of the store where they saw a large part of the parking lot blocked off with cones. Claire sat at the end, looking upset with herself next to judge Ginny Frost.

"As you can see," Scott announced, "this is where you'll be walking and showing off your thrift store fashion for our judge and our disqualified contestant. We coned off enough space for all of you to walk side by side, so you need to stand out! Then we'll eliminate half of you after each outfit, so you better hope all three of your outfits are fierce! Let's get started!"

Scott walked to the end of the makeshift runway and sat next to Ginny and Claire. "Ready girls? Go!"

The twelve contestants started walking down the parking lot in various shirts, skirts, and jeans. The majority of the girls reached the end of the runway at roughly the same time and posed, but Savannah was not so lucky.

"Runway is just… not my thing," brooded Savannah.

"What do you think, Ginny?"

"It's easy to eliminate half of you, that's what I think." Ginny rolled her eyes, "Treasure, Savannah, Angelina, Jacqueline, Katie, and Gwyneth, you're out!"

"I think I should mention that I hate timing too," Treasure laughed.

"All right then." Scott smiled, "Rose, Sharon, Vivian, Jayla, Janessa, and Margaret, please get your second outfits on!"

The six remaining girls re-entered the store to get their second outfits from the clothes they had picked off earlier while the eliminated girls joined Ginny, Claire, and Scott.

"At this point, I was just thinking that I needed to work hard to win the challenge," Margaret nodded, "I knew that Vivian had a great walk and Rose had a cutesy look that fit a lot of the clothes in the store so I pegged them as my biggest competitors."

The six girls came out of the store and walked down the concrete runway once more. They all reached the end of the runway and struck a strong group pose before turning away and storming back to the opening of the store, wind blowing through their hair.

"What do you know, pruning through you guys really works," Ginny joked. "Rose, you have a look that perfectly suits the cute and fun clothes you're wearing, but your walk needs improvement, and you look a little 'mall' for me. Janessa, you really know how to match colors to your skin. Up that confidence a bit and you're perfect. Vivian, your choice in clothes are brilliant for your body type. You've shown that you understand how to find clothes that flatter you. Sharon, I feel like you're not showing who you are in your walk or your clothes. You don't really leave much of an impression on me. Jayla, all of your clothes fit you perfectly and work together really well. I want to see an edgier side in you, though, because your face isn't as angular as other girls'. Margaret, you have great style, but I worry about you looking too old in the face. Great body, though."

"So who are we eliminating this round?" Scott asked.

Ginny thought for moment, "We can say 'good-bye' to Rose, Sharon, and… this is a hard decision, but Janessa."

"I'm so bummed. Frost gave me all good critique, and then she ousted me." Janessa shrugged.

"I do kind of think her reasoning for me was a bit bogus. If I didn't make an impression, why'd she keep me past the first round?" Sharon questioned.

"I know I rocked it and I know I did my best, so that's all I could do." Rose nodded.

"All right then," Scott remarked, "Jayla, Margaret, and Vivian, please get your third outfits and prepare for the final round."

The three finalists turned around and mentally prepared themselves for the last walk.

"I was so nervous. You don't even know. I just knew that I had to step it up from my failure the week before. I knew that if I didn't ace the challenge, I'd go home," Vivian admitted.

"I'm freaking out at this point because my competition is so strong. I really need to impress the judges with this because I know that I don't have the edgiest face," Jayla said.

"I'm looking at the prize and I'm thinking, 'this is so amazing, you have to win it'. These girls are all eighteen or nineteen and I'm twenty-two. I need this more than them," said Margaret

The three girls opened the doors and posed at the start of the runway together. Vivian was wearing a simple black short jacket made of imitation leather, a simple low-cute white shirt and tight fitting black jeans. Jayla wore a slim black vest on top of a purple tube-top, a small purple clutch, and a black skirt. Margaret wore a pair of fitted jeans and a tight white tank top.

The trio began walking in unison, a mixture of strong and soft steps, before reaching the end of the makeshift runway and trying to out-pose each other. As if all listening to the same metronome, all three turned simultaneously and stomped off back to the entrance.

"Very strong final three," commented Scott, "What do you think?"

"Let's take this girl by girl." Ginny evaluated, "Vivian, you have the best walk of the three, and probably of the entire bunch. You flattered your body well with jacket and jeans, but I think the shirt is a little too low-cut to be a model."

Vivian covered her face with her right hand, "I don't know what I was thinking getting a low-cut shirt."

"Jayla, the outfit is amazing, and I felt the quiet confidence this time around. The next time you runway walk, though, I don't want it to be quiet."

"I honestly didn't know what to think of the critique. Was that good or bad?" Jayla shrugged.

"And Margaret, it's very plain. This can be good or bad. It's good because it makes you look very clean, but at the same time, we want you to look like a model with a hint of a personal style and, while we saw it in your two other outfits, we didn't see it here," Ginny commented.

"So, who is your choice for the winner, Ginny?"

"I would have to go with… Jayla!"

Jayla jumped up and screamed. Ginny grinned and approached her to hug her, "This is how loud I want your confidence next time, okay Jayla?"

"Definitely!" Jayla yelled as she hugged Ginny.

"I think that was the most I had ever heard Jayla say," laughed Vivian.

"It just felt so unfair. I was the only one that could do anything with the shopping spree." Margaret looked to the side, visibly upset.

"So you get a $10,000 shopping spree at several designer stores this evening, Jayla," Scott grinned, "but you also get to choose two friends to share another $10,000 between them."

"I'm going to have to choose Janessa and… Jacqueline."

"Janessa was really the only one that made an effort to get to know me at that point, so she was the obvious choice." Jayla blinked and paused, "As for Jackie, well I really just kind of thought it'd be cool if the three winners all had 'j's as the first letter in their name. It's not that I don't like her or anything, I just didn't really know anyone else."

"I was so psyched because that would make it the second week in a row I got to participate in the challenge. I'm making an impact." Janessa winked.

"I'm really surprised she chose me, because we hadn't talked before that. Obviously, I was so grateful, though." Jacqueline smiled.

"As for the rest of you," Scott grinned, "Go on home and enjoy the rest of your evening while your friends go and shop!"

"I definitely do need to say that I was disappointed. A $10,000 shopping spree? Most people would kill for that." Treasure affirmed.

While ten girls rode the limo back to the house, Jayla, Janessa, and Jacqueline were taken by an even fancier ride to a swanky, expensive line of shops.

"The limo we get for Top Model is kind of, pardon my language, tacky. But this one was just freaking amazing." Jacqueline laughed.

"It was definitely not something I expected. I felt like a princess," Jayla nodded.

For the next few hours, the three girls each found expensive dresses, simple model go-sees clothes, and lavish jewelry to fit their $10,000 and $5,000 budgets, respectively. After a long day's worth of shopping, they headed home with their spoils of the challenge.

Shortly after the winners returned, the losing girls lamented over the loss of the challenge. Margaret stayed alone in her room for a while, visibly upset, while Angelina, Katie, and Sharon complained about the results.

"I don't even think Jayla did that good of a job. I mean, her third outfit was good, sure, but her first was in no way better than mine," Angelina rolled her eyes.

"I'm just really annoyed that Ginny didn't take me to the final round," said Sharon, "She had no negatives to say to me and then all of a sudden I was eliminated."

"I don't understand the judges," Angelina complained.

"It doesn't matter though," Katie shrugged and rolled her eyes, "Let them have their stupid shopping spree. All that matters is that they're not going to win this competition."

Angelina snorted in laughter as Savannah shouted from the kitchen, "Hey girls! Model Mail"!

The girls gathered in the kitchen as Savannah read the new model mail, "This is no time to be scared of failing. Love, Bella."

"We're probably going to be portraying over achievers or something," predicted Rose.

Janessa chimed in, "Oh, maybe we'll be high school stereotypes!"

Regardless, the girls slowly shuffled out to sleep in preparation for the photoshoot the next day.

The girls filed into a large studio building the next day, prepared for their photoshoot. Scott and a woman with whitening hair greeted them.

Scott grinned and waved at the contestants, "Hey, girls! Today we are going to be doing a photoshoot with our lovely photographer of the week, Lalaine Rogers."

The woman raised her camera and smiled, "Hello! Today, each of you will be portraying different common phobias."

A murmur of excitement swept through the girls before Scott cut in, "Jacqueline, you're going to be scared of social interaction. Jayla, you'll be scared of being alone. Rose, you're scared of the dark. Margaret is heights, Sharon is tight spaces, and Savannah is scared of ghosts."

Lalaine continued, "Vivian, you are afraid of men. Treasure, you don't like being touched, while Katie is going to be afraid of blood. Janessa, you're scared of spiders, Gwyneth is afraid of dying, Angelina hates needles, and Claire is terrified of snakes."

"Now go get ready in hair and make-up," Scott commanded.

"I'm really interested in the composition of these photos. I was wondering if they'd all be in the same location and general atmosphere, but of course, I was wrong," chimed Savannah.

"I kind of wish I got a more glamorous topic," began Katie, "but I can work blood. Heh, I can work anything."

First on set was Angelina, who was dressed in what looked like a ripped up and segmented nurse's outfit. It was a sleeveless, formfitting short white dress with a high collar and red buttons down the center. She had on ivory gloves, long white boots, and bright red lipstick.

"Angelina, you look like a fashion nurse fetish. I love it," cried Scott.

"Thanks." Angelina flashed a smile.

Scott smiled back and sat behind the computer monitor, which would show the frames as they were taken "Get on set and show me what you got."

Angelina got inside the large pool of 'used' needles, which were actually made of plastic and rounded at the points so that they wouldn't be able to actually pierce anything. Angelina stepped in the thigh deep pool and crossed her arms, grabbing her opposing shoulders. She then hunched downwards and looked up into the light, fear in her eyes.

"I really like what you're doing so far, Angelina," Scott grinned, "but make sure you connect with the needles. This is what you're terrified of."

"Can I try to escape?"

Scott exclaimed in affirmation. Angelina took risks, which is such an important thing to do as a model. She was really easy to work with.

Angelina leaned on the outside of the pool extended one of her legs on top of the needles and looked down at the pool, as if terrified.

"Gorgeous!"

Later, Treasure stepped on set wearing a short black pajama dress and a small bracelet on her wrist. Her set consisted of a small stage surrounded by hordes of prosthetic and mannequin arms seemingly reaching for her.

"Okay, Treasure, I want you to recoil. Just imagine that if any of those hands touch you, you're going to die," suggested Scott.

Treasure nodded and positioned herself in the center of the stage, cowering and hunching herself over.

"Make sure not to compress yourself too much, because you're hiding the clothes."

"I honestly didn't feel too good about my shot," Treasure looked disappointed, "I had such an amazing shot and I just don't know why I couldn't turn it out."

Vivian stepped on set wearing only a bath towel, to be approached by Scott and three men with towels wrapped around their waists.

"So, as you know Vivian, you're going to be posing nude today," Scott nodded, "but what you may not realize is that your three male models are going to be nude too."

"I know a lot of girls were unhappy with my shoot, but I think they were just jealous that I had three men," Vivian laughed heartily, "three hot men… three hot naked men. Suck it!"

Vivian's background was plain off-white, and Vivian laid on her right side, her right arm covering her breasts while her right leg covered her crotch area with her left leg extended. She grabbed her hair with her left arm and stared at the camera with terror while the three male models arranged themselves in such a fashion that all of them were covered, as they watched her from the other side of the frame.

Scott nodded, "Vivian just worked very well with the male models. She really stepped it up from last week."

Finally, Margaret stepped up. "I knew I was the last girl on set, so I really needed to work it." She was wearing a long, billowing white dress that connected to a beautiful and decadent corset top. She stood at what looked like the top of a building, but was actually just a foot off the ground, and looked down, clutching her chest and looking about to cry as her dress cloth fluttered behind her.

"Maggie, this is beautiful, but I want you to bring more model into it."

"Margaret was very artsy in her posing this week, but I don't know if it was the best shot as a model," Scott admitted.

"That's a wrap girls! Go get some sleep."

Back at the house, Gwyneth was going through the refrigerator to decide what to cook for dinner. Katie approached her and smirked. "What are you going to make for dinner, Sharon? Lettuce and water?"

Gwyneth and scoffed and pulled out some vegetables, "I don't understand why you're so abrasive. Why does it bother you so much that I'm a vegetarian?"

Katie laughed, "It bothers me because it's pointless! We have canine teeth for a reason, you know. You're just being stupid."

"I just really don't get why Katie can't just be civil. She's such a… bitch." Gwyneth shook her head.

Gwyneth slammed the bag of carrots on the kitchen table, "Why are you such a bitch? For someone who's eighteen, you look like you could be my grandma!"

"Okay, I'm not the one who's picture sucked last week!"

"Maybe it was because you're used to wearing a pound of make-up everyday!" Gwyneth opened the bag, "Get out of my face."

Before Katie could respond, Claire called from the other room, "Model Mail! Tomorrow you will meet with the judges. Only twelve of you will continue on in the running towards becoming America's Next Top Model. Love, Bella."

"Who's out this week?" Rose pranced around, playfully.

Back in the kitchen, Katie and Gwyneth exchanged glares, as if insinuating the other.

The thirteen remaining contestants entered the judging panel and found their places on the platform. Bella Black was wearing a slim white dress. She waved as she greeted the girls.

"Hey, girls! Thirteen beautiful girls stand before me, but only one of you can become America's Next Top Model. I'm sure you all know what the prizes are: a $10,000 contract with Vega Model Management, a six page spread in 'Emblem' magazine, and a cover in both 'Portragirl' and 'Emblem' magazine. Our panel of judges this week is the lovely Ginny Frost, former fashion model and current editor of 'Emblem' magazine, Scott Montgomery, a fashion photographer and the director of your photoshoots, Lalaine Rogers, your photographer this week, and myself. This week each of you portrayed a common phobia, and first up on the chopping block is Margaret."

Margaret stepped up to the judges and waved, "I was fear of heights."

In her photo, Margaret is wearing a billowing white dress that connects into a lavish corset. She is standing on the edge of a tall building and leaning over to look down, her right hand, which is farther away from the camera, on her chest in surprise. It is a profile shot, with the left side of her visible, and her body forms a right angle because of the bed. Her left arm follows the curve of her body, but droops down a little, making it seem more natural, and her legs are both stiff downwards but are unseen because of the brilliantly moving cloth.

"I think this is a gorgeous photo, Maggie," Ginny nodded, "It's artsy and the composition is really great, but I can tell that you're doing work too. Great job."

"You were really easy to shoot," Lalaine mentioned, "I loved working with you because you were always trying something different."

"What I worry with you, Margaret," began Scott, "Is that you are indeed twenty-two. I know that most of these girls are eighteen, so they're already a little old to be starting out, but you're a good deal older than some of these girls, and even though I don't see it in this photo, I see it in person, so watch out."

"Yeah, it translates as maturity in your photos, as opposed to age, but I think it can border on it in person, so make sure you dress yourself younger. Next up is Gwyneth."

In her photo, Gwyneth is wearing a long, billowing black dress and a veil with a dying rose on it. She is lying on top of a coffin in what looks to be a church. She is looking over her right shoulder at the camera, and her left arm is in the air with her hand on her forehead, bent at the elbow to create a triangle shape. Her other arm is limp downwards off the coffin, mimicking her right leg, which is also limp downwards while her left leg is bent at the knee and upright on the coffin, making another angle. Her face has overacted fear on it which, combined with the contrived left arm, cheapens the photo a bit.

"I was so disappointed that this photo didn't turn out excellent, because I was in love with all the pieces of it," Lalaine rubbed her chin with her hand.

"I have to agree," Scott concurred, "The dress is great and the set is absolutely amazing, but you're not working it. The pose could have worked on its own, but the face isn't working."

Bella nodded, "Thank you, Gwyn. Next up is Katie."

"Hello, judges." Katie smiled and waved.

In her photo, Katie is in a simple black tank top and gray pajama pants. She is lying in a puddle of blood, with her top closer to the frame than her legs, making her seem out of proportion. Her left toes are pointed and her right leg is bent into her other leg in an amputee fashion. She is leaning on her stiff right arm with her right hand on the side of her head, while her left arm lies in the puddle, limply and awkwardly. Her face looks almost blank.

"This looks very awkward. What happened to the girl from last week?" Bella furrowed her brow, concerned.

"Well," Katie looked anxious, "I guess it was kind of difficult for me to work with the blood because I'm actually really scared."

"Well, it's not real blood, hun." Ginny rolled her eyes.

"That's not all though," Bella shook her head, "How many of you girls were scared of your prompt?"

Janessa, Angelina, Sharon, Rose, and Claire raised their hands.

"Do you see, Katie? These girls were scared too and some of them actually had actual spiders on them. You need to work through it. Thank you, Katie." Bella dismissed her, "Will Claire please step up?"

In her photo, Claire's photo is a close-up beauty shot. Her hair is tied into long juvenile pigtails which lie on her shoulders, covering the front of her torso. She wears a white tube-top, but most of it is cut out of the frame. There is a white snake wrapped around her neck like a scarf, weaving in and out of her two long pigtails. Her left hand is tugging at the snake slightly and she looks as if she is about to cry.

"This is a really stunning photograph, Claire," Lalaine inhaled, covering her mouth with her right hand.

"I just love the complete innocence in this photo," Scott agreed, "But I want to see you look more like a model in person."

"Next up is Angelina."

In her photo, Angelina is wearing a sleeveless white dress that extends to her thighs. It is form fitting and stylish, with bright red buttons going down the center and a high color. She has on matching red lipstick and a pair of short gloves and long boots. She is in a pool of needles, her body extending outwards so that her arms and part of her torso are outside of the pool. She is lying on her left arm, which is completely extended, while her right arm wraps around her head. Her body curves into the pool, with one leg peaking out of the pool slightly. Her face has a gorgeous mixture of hopeless resignation and death.

"Wow! This is incredible!" Scott clapped for her, "You really played with the idea and you were wonderful on set."

"You really were," agreed Lalaine, "I really liked willing you were to try new things."

"This is a gorgeous photo, Angelina. Thank you." Bella smiled.

Angelina pumped her fist with a quiet, "Yes!" which elicited some laughing from the judges before returning to her spot.

"Next is Vivian."

In her photo, Vivian is nude and so are the three male models beside her. She is on the far left of the frame, while the males are on the far right. She is partially resting on her right forearm, which is closer to the camera than her left is, and her right leg is bent at the knee, creating a triangle shape. Her left leg is elongated and her toes are pointed. Her left arm is covering her breast and she is looking over her right shoulder, lips parted in terror and eyes wide. One of the male models is lying on his side, with his back to the camera and supporting himself with his left hand. He is looking over at Vivian, and his right arm is in front of him. Another is on his knees behind the lying down model, with the left leg in the foreground forward to cover his crotch. His arms are both limp and down, showcasing incredibly muscle tone. The third and final male model is sitting with his left side closer to the camera. His left leg is bent to cover his crotch and his right leg is on its side, bent at the knee. Both hands are holding his left knee and all three are looking at Vivian lustily.

"This is a definite improvement from last week," commented Ginny, "You look raw and sexy and you draw attention to yourself, even though there are three smoking male models competing with you."

"Ginny's right. Never let the male model overshadow you, and you managed to not let three of them. You did an amazing job," Lalaine nodded and smiled.

Bella thanked Vivian, "Next up is Sharon."

In her photo, Sharon is wearing a full-body black catsuit. She is sitting in a small square, which is tilted so it does not emulate the frame of the photo. Her back is against the left side and her right leg is bent at the knee to create a shape. Her left leg is also bent at the knee, but rests on top of her right leg, creating two shapes with between the legs and also one against the wall, as her left heel is against an edge of the box. She is looking over her right shoulder, and her right arm is bent at the elbow with her hand on her hip, while her left arm is elongated and resting on her left knee. Her face looks calm and serene.

"The disappointing thing about this, is that this has such potential to be a stunning photo, and it is a good one, but it doesn't fit the theme at all." Scott shrugged, "You need to be able to model in the theme, or you won't get called back by clients."

"Like Scott said, I think this is a good photo, but it's not what we were looking for at all," Bella admitted.

"If you don't please the client, the client won't please you," Ginny mentioned as she shook her head, "And don't make a dirty joke about that."

"Next up is Treasure."

In her photo, Treasure is on a small gray stage, wearing a short and loose tan mini-dress. All around her are prosthetic and mannequin hands that that try to touch her. She is sitting on her side, with both of her legs bent together on the side and both toes pointed. Unlike her lower body, her upper body is straight on to camera. She awkwardly grabs her upper arms with the other arm and her face is straight on, terror shooting out of her doe eyes.

"You're really making yourself short here. It's a wonderful set, and you have a great face, but the body isn't doing anything for me," Ginny rolled her eyes.

"I have to agree. Sorry," Lalaine added on.

Janessa stepped up to the panel. In her photo, Janessa's photo is a close-up beauty shot. It is shot so that the viewer can only see above her chest and up, obscuring any clothes she may have been wearing. Her hair is natural and tied into a slender ponytail down her left shoulder. She is leaning to her right in a three-quarters profile angle with her right hand lightly touching her right cheek. Her left arm is bent at the elbow, creating a shape towards her face and her left hand covering part of her left cheek. A large tarantula is crawling on her wrist towards her and she looks at it with horror, her lips slightly parted and her eyes wide.

"Janessa, this is once again one of the best photos. Two weeks in a row!" Bella exclaimed happily.

Janessa swayed awkwardly.

"Your problem is the same as last week though: no confidence. When we give you praise, accept it, or else you won't find yourself going far in this competition," Scott informed

"Next is Jacqueline."

In her photo, Jacqueline is wearing simple red party dress, red stilettos, and holding a cup of alcohol. She is sitting on a beige couch and there is a blur of people all around the photo. Both of her legs are on the chair making triangle shapes, but the leg farther from the camera is extended slightly farther. She is hunched forward and wrapping her arms around her legs, with her right arm gracefully extended forward, holding the cup of alcohol upright. Her face emanates timidness and nervousness.

Lalaine gasped, "This is a really great photo. I just wish you weren't holding the cup so awkwardly."

"Lovely photo. Great job, Jacqueline. I can really feel your emotion," added Bella.

Next up, Rose approached the judges. In her photo, Rose's set is almost completely obscured in the darkness. She is wearing a casual pink tank-top and fitting jeans. There is a male model in the darkness, but he can barely be seen. She is holding a flashlight in her hand, which lightens up the area near the top left side of the frame, and the area around it is slightly lighter. Her right arm is resting on the male model's hand, oblivious to the fact that he's there. Her left leg is extended diagonally downwards across most of the frame, while her right leg is bent at the knee, creating a shape; her right knee meets the back of her left knee in the center. Her left arm is clutching her chest and she is staring frightened at the bright spot from the flashlight.

Bella grinned, "This is amazing, Rose. This is the second time you've pulled off a wonderful photo."

"I just think it's so creepy that you don't notice the male model until you realize that you're on him. Haunting stuff," commented Scott.

"Next is Jayla."

In her photo, Jayla is nude, crouched into a fetal position towards the camera. Her right hand covers her breasts and her legs are up to cover the rest of her body. Her left arm is beside her curled up body, extended stiffly down to the ground where her hand is clenched. She looks up into the light, absolutely terrified. Her set is a wide expanse of white, with her only taking a small portion of the frame in the center up.

"I think it's funny that this is the second time in two weeks that you've been nude," Ginny mused, "It's so much better this time, though."

"Definitely. You really captured the insecure nature of the shoot on set, Jayla." Lalaine nodded and motioned at Jayla, "You're a keeper."

"Thank you Jayla. Last but not least, we have Savannah."

Savannah stepped up to the judging table. In her photo, Savannah's set looks like an empty parking lot with a marking pole near the left edge of the frame. She is wearing formal slacks and a fitted black blazer with a white button up inside. Savannah is sitting against the pole, her back arched and her head leaning back, eyeing the camera out of the corner of her eye. Both of her legs are bent at the knee, but her left leg, which is behind the right, is bent higher than the right. Both of her arms are limp downwards. A male model, who is wearing a bloody suit and edited to look semi-transparent like a ghost, is in front of the pole, unbeknownst to Savannah, and looking down at her murderously.

"You have a similar problem that Gwyneth and Sharon had this week. It's a good photo overall, but you really don't get the theme," commented Bella.

"I notice the male model first, and that's never good," Lalaine mentioned as she shook her head.

"Really a huge disappointment from last week's picture. Terrible drop." Scott quipped.

"Thank you, Savannah. Now the judges will deliberate and we'll call you back to announce who has been eliminated."

As the thirteen girls clambered back in the room, Bella greeted them, "Thirteen beautiful girls stand before me, but only one can be America's Next Top Model. The first name that I'm going to call, that had the best photo this week is… Angelina."

Angelina shrieked and ran forward to get her photograph.

"This is an amazing improvement from you as a Siryn last week. Make sure to keep it up." Bella smiled as Angelina walked off to the side.

"The next three names I'm going to call are… Margaret, Vivian, and Rose." She smiled at Vivian when she passed, acknowledging her immense improvement.

Nine girls fidgeted as they watched the decreasing amount of photos in Bella's hands.

"The next names I am going to call are Jayla, Jacqueline, Claire, and Janessa."

As Janessa approached, Bella handed her photo to her and sighed, "Again, Janessa, you had one of the best photos this week, but your confidence is not going to work. Work on that, and you may just get a first call-out."

"Five girls left. The next three names I will call, that are safe from the bottom two, are Gwyneth, Treasure, and Katie."

"Thank you so much," Katie sobbed slightly as she got her photo. Nearby, Gwyneth glared at her.

"Will Savannah and Sharon please step forwards?"

The two complied.

"Savannah, you stand here before me as the most drastic change from last week, but not in a good way. You were at the top of the pack last week, but this week the judges might just eliminate you. We don't understand how you portrayed a theme so brilliantly last week and this week you just fell flat. Sharon, your photo was decent this week, but for the second week in a row, you failed to provide that extra passion that we're looking for. Good photos aren't enough to make a top model. So who goes home? The girl who flunked, or the girl without presence?"

Both girls braced themselves.

"Savannah. The judges recognized that your photo this week was still decent, but you need to do what the client wants you to. Congratulations, you're still in the running towards becoming America's Next Top Model."

"Thank you so much," Savannah cried as she wept silently and got her photo.

Bella held out Sharon's photo as Sharon sobbed and went to hug her, "Your photos have been decent, so we know there's a print model in there somewhere, Sharon, but you need to work on your presence, okay? Keep trying, Sharon."

Sharon nodded and left the room without hugging the other girls.

"I don't think I should have gone home. If both of my pictures were decent, then why was I sent home? There are girls there, like Katie and Gwyn that don't have a single good photo, and they get saved over me?"

Sharon wiped tears from her eyes, "I'm not going to stop though. You're all going to see me again someday. I promise."

She finished packing her belongings and left the house.

Sharon's casting photo fades away from the composite picture as the credits roll.


End file.
